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Laboratory

"You don't want to talk about it eh?" Roadblock thought. "From the look at you it seems like repairs got interrupted by this Fallen. I'm guessing you where one of the steps in Razorclaw's climb."

He grinned but kept the observation to himself. He still needed Shockwave to fully restore himself.

"Alright then. Lets get this over with so I can make my trip" He said and walked over to a repair platform. He would need the twin launcher that usually rested on his back reinstalled and his energon levels brought up to a properly recharged state.

"So while your machines do their thing, have any scouts done their jobs? Any word on just what kind of terrain we are facing down there or what kind of numbers this Fallen has?"

Laboratory

A transmission begins to come in from Earth as Shadowing is seeking to establish a link between to the Laboratory. Due to its secure nature he needed Shockwave to complete the link.

Laboratory

"Alright then. Lets get this over with so I can make my trip."

Indeed, was the thought that briefly crossed Shockwave's higher functions; small but significant proof that he was not truly a walking computer, despite how close he had come to near perfect sentient synthesis with technology.

"So while your machines do their thing, have any scouts done their jobs? Any word on just what kind of terrain we are facing down there or what kind of numbers this Fallen has?"

"Affirmative," Shockwave responded simply, reaching over and pulling up the intelligence that had been collected and shared up to this point: topographical information regarding the terrain surrounding Ayer's Rock as well as the mechanoids--both Autobot and Decepticon--who were established as having been taken captive by the Fallen.

"Declarative: their numbers are insignificant. Their power levels, however, are of indeterminate range."

Laboratory

"Interesting." Roadblock said as the machines continued their work. It was an interesting sensation to feel a part of you reattached while one was recharged. It was a strangely philosophical feeling that allowed him to think on things. "Who are these Autobots and Decepticons who joined this Fallen?"

Laboratory

Shockwave indicated the screen that he had pulled up earlier for Roadblock's benefit. The reasoning behind why he was typically utilized as a blunt force instrument was all too evident.

"Declarative: there are currently five identified individuals under the Fallen's thrall, one of whom is believed to be possessed by the entity itself."

Shockwave highlighted the form of Hot Rod.

"Otherwise, none of the taken individuals were of any demonstrable significance to the war effort prior to their kidnapping. That has changed, as the Fallen entity appears capable of transmitting some degree of his power to them. To what degree that weakens the primary subject and strengthens the secondary remains unknown."

Corridors

The Seeker Commander watched as the Phase Sixer slowly returned to land of the moving, a smile spread across his visage. He crossed his arms over his chest as he kept his optics on Sixshot’s form as the towering mech got back to his feet.

“The code words!"

A chuckle escaped the flier’s vocalizer but it was cut short as he was rudely shoved aside. Grumbling a few colorful profanities Starscream regain his composure and turned to face the confused sixchanger.

“You said the code words!? How....how did you know them? Only Megatron knew how to shut me down and I highly doubt he would share them with the likes of you!"

The smile returned to the silver and red flier’s face. “Yes, yes. I said them.” Waving his hand he shifted his weight from one foot to the other placing one hand on his hip. And even as Sixshot stepped in closer Starscream stood his ground, mocking grin and all.

“I know you must be itching to hear that little secret, but it’s on a need to know basis…and right now, you do not need to know.” He pointed at the larger mech and shifted his weight to the opposite foot. “However, I will say this; Megatron was never very good at keeping things from me.”

Starscream chuckled lightly before he removed his hand from his hip.

“Tell me, Starscream," an unhappy Sixshot began to speak as he cast a deep glare at the Seeker Commander. “Who else besides you know those code words? Are you the only one or are there others? And, more importantly, what do you intend to do with me now that you have me at your disposal? You want me to get the throne for you? Is that what this is all about? You want to be Supreme Leader and you’ll willing to take it in the most cowardly way possible, right? Tell me I’m wrong."

After the influx of demands and questioning from the, no doubt angered and confused Sixshot, Starscream crossed his arms back over his chest and rolled his head slightly. “Primus you’re full of questions, aren’t you,” a sarcastic observation.

When he set his optics tightly on the Phase Sixer the Seeker Commander laid everything out. “The codes were Megatron’s secret and now they’re mine.” He flashed the larger mech a broad cunning smile at the next series of questions posed by his new comrade. “Deer, deer Sixshot. I do not need to use you in order to take the “throne””, he raised both hands and emphasized his words with air quotes, “After all, I don’t need to take what is mine already. No, what I need you to do is something much more important.”

Starscream didn’t wait for a response instead he placed both hands behind his back and began pacing in front of Sixshot. “You see, I wish to accomplish that which Megatron could never in the countless vorns he was our esteemed leader.” He stopped in front of Sixshot and pointed up at the sixchanger. “And that is where you come in. Megatron failed to utilize your full potential. You are capable of so much more than some glorified planet sanitizer.”

He lowered his hand and tilted his head slightly to one side. “I want you to do what you were meant to do….put an end to this war.” And if you happen to annihilate Razorclaw and Shockwave in the process, then all the better.

Knockout’s Lab

It had been a few moments since the address from the Decepticons’ new Supreme Commander. Nightraven had expected something like this would happen. First this infernal infighting to determine who had the larger ball bearings and now this whole mess with some sort of supernatural entity who took over not one but five Cybertronians, at least that’s what she assumed was going on. Of course with the way things were going nowadays anything was possible.

Nightraven shook her head to rid her processor of the thought.

“Could things get any worse for us, Nighty?"

A small smile made its way to her face as she looked at Skywarp. “Oh, I’m sure it can.” She let out a sigh as she realized just how true her statement was.

“I suppose that I should get going. ‘Lord’ Razorclaw will likely not accept me being late to the party."

As true as it was Nightraven was reluctant to release Skywarp’s arm…not yet at least.

“You should probably stay behind and rest up, Nighty. I’m afraid you won’t be much good in your condition."

Her grip tightened slightly around his appendage and her optics lowered to the floor. “Yes, but I can’t be of any real help up here,” she said lowly.

As the two Seekers spoke Knockout had busied himself with a bit of tiding. And so with cloth in hand he began to meticulously clean his tools.

“Hey, Knockout! Take care of Nightraven while I’m gone. Make sure she gets whatever assistance she needs. She better be fully functional when I get back. Understand?"

A low growl escaped the crimson and gold mech at the sound of Skywarp. With a huff Knockout looked up at the two fliers and sneered. The close proximity of the two nearly made the mechanic retch. Disgusting.

“Do you honestly believe that she can’t handle herself?” A smile grew on his face as his posture straightened. “Oh yes, I remember, she had a dreadful time taking on one of Soundwave’s little chest renters. My mistake…” He stepped from behind his table. “Have no fear! I shall do that which she cannot! Stay out of trouble.” His voice lowered and his smile faded as he stepped back around his table.

Nightraven sent a heated glare in the mechanic’s direction, and at the same time she gripped Skywarp’s arm even tighter preventing the teleporter to exact some form of revenge. Instead she pulled attention back toward her.

“Don’t listen to him. I can take care of myself. But,” The femme looked back at Knockout who was watching the two a repulsed look on his face. After a moment the grounder turned his attention back to his cleaning.

Nightraven turned her optics back on Skywarp. “Please be careful. This isn’t going to be a normal battle. Those things….those mechs...Just stay safe.” She placed her free hand on his cheek and forced a smile. “You better go.”

“Yes! You should go! I’m in no mood to clean up whatever I purge from watching you two in the next few minutes,” came from the back of the lab. “And not to worry, I already told you I’d take care of her until you came back… IF you come back!” Knockout chuckled.

Nightraven’s optics shifted from Skywarp to the smaller mechanic. She finally let the teleporter’s arm slip from hers as she began to step away. “You should get going. Knockout and I have some things to discuss.”

Med Bay

Once Orbitoclast gave the Stunticon Commander the okay to leave, she got busy tossing all of the soiled rags into the corner, where all of the other garbage accumulated.

"If your work won't cut it through the paces I am going to put this frame through you'd better start looking for the ticket out of his star system girlie."

The doctor pursed her lips together in a tight line as she looked back at the towering ‘Con. Offering a smartmouthed remark would most certainly get her a beating. Something she’d rather avoid at this time. No, she’d grown rather accustomed to her looks.

Instead Orbitoclast sent Motormaster a glare with just the hint of a smile.

Motormaster’s attention quickly zeroed in on his subordinates. By that time the good doctor tuned the trio out. So engrossed was she that when she felt the hard slap to her aft she let out a surprised yelp and jumped.

Her hand moved quickly to her rear as she looked at Motormaster and the other two Stunticons. As her optics caught his Orbitoclast sent the large mech a sly smirk of her own.

Orbitoclast took a moment to have a look around. Just about all of her patients were gone, leaving only one on a slab.

With a smirk on her face, the femme picked up one of her grimy tools and sauntered over to Headstrong’s prostrate form. She stopped and stood behind his head. After brief pause she looked down at the Predacon. The smirk grew into a full blown smile.

Slowly, carefully the crackpot doctor brought up the tool and tapped it against Headstrong’s forehead. “Knock, knock. I know you’re home.” She chuckled lightly. “Come now, sweetums, you’re all better now.” She tapped once more and stepped away.

She let out a small sigh before back stepping and stopping when her back hit a table. She leaned against it crossing one ankle strut over the other and crossing her arms over her chestplating. “Your Comman….I mean our Supreme Commander wishes for you to join him and the others on the killing fields”

Armory

"I am simple type of 'con Weirdo." Skullcruncher sighed. He had noticed the wounded pride in the voice of his friend all too well. "Doesn't mean I don't appreciate your efforts. Just that I wasn't trained that way. Too much thinking makes my processors hurt."

That wasn't far from the truth. Skullcruncher was not stupid, in fact he was far more intelligent his behavior let others to perceive. The thing was, the system had decided everything for him. Manual labor. The tough everyday grind in the mines. It had been enough to fill his needs. A simple mech, simple needs. But then they had been told they were not needed anymore? The senate had taken everything away from him with couple of words. Suddenly the rumors about automation of the mines had turned into a reality. The whispers about how they had been only fed scraps while the upper classes lived of lavishly through their hard work had been proved true. Megatron had not needed to ask twice. It was very different background in comparison to his friend who had once been part of Cybertron's cultural elite. In some manner at least. Skullcruncher had never been too informed about the so called high culture and Weirdwolf certainly did not talk much about his past.

But that was a discussion for another day. Today they would wage war against a demigod and that was a battle they were not going to win with words, they were going to win it through weapons.

Weapons. Enough guns to turn a bustling metropolis into a burning graveyard. From small sidearms to heavy equipment and explosives that could reduce a city block to cinders with a single blast. That was what an armory of a Thanatos-class battlecruiser was all about. And that was what they were going to need today even if it meant causing a munitions shortage for years to come when it came to more rare and far more expensive to produce heavy weapons - for there was no guarantee the Fallen could be hurt with anything less than one of Thanatos' destructo beam batteries. And that option had been effectively reduced from the battle through complete immobilization of battlecruiser. Without engines to steer its course, the Thanatos was nowhere near a proper firing angle for its energy weapons to be of any use and with their forces already sent in for a ground assault, a missile strike had also been ruled out as an option. No, the outcome of this battle was to be decided through whatever ordnance the combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons were able to bring against their mysterious enemy.

"So, you think we should-"

"Alright boys! Time to raid the armory!" The sudden proclamation from Motormaster's booming voice interrupted Skullcruncher's question as the Stunticon commander burst into the armory with Breakdown and Dead End in tow. "Take everything you can carry and make sure you spread out between different types of armature! If I have to witness you stasis locking yourself due to energon depletion because you took the most powerful energy weapon you found, I am going to feed your sorry carcasses to Skullcruncher here!"

"I suppose that answered my question." Skullcruncher said to Weirdwolf, flashing mischevous grin and procured a number of grenades from a storage locker in addition to the particle accelerator he had grabbed a moment earlier.

Reaching out to grab an acid-pellet rifle to make sure he too was following Motormaster's idea of spreading his firepower between different types of ammunition, Skullcruncher turned to look his attention back to his friend to see if he had finished loading up weapons of his own.

"Ready when you are."

Bounce Chamber

Landgrab hoped he wasn't late. It would be a pretty bad impression to make on their new leader for him to not show up for a battle with a supernatural entity that just happened to threaten their collective existence. Especially after Razorclaw had called for his Decepticon reinforcements at least twice that Landgrab was aware of. Once was plenty. Shockwave was clearly distracted with other matters and he would be of no protection to the large mech if for some reason he glitched a circuit or got otherwise distracted and subsequently engaged in a dereliction of Razorclaw's assigned duties. Not that Landgrab was the type to not follow orders anyway. Far from it. He just needed to stop off and pick up some new ammunition, and that hadn't taken long.

But long enough, it seemed. Stepping into the bounce chamber, he saw that the main cohort of Decepticons was gone, even though later groups were still mobilizing for departure down to the surface.

"Sorry for-" Landgrab stammered as he entered, looking around at the other Decepticons. But he didn't see anyone who would even give two glitches about hearing his apology.

"Just get on the bounce pad. Let's go!" another Decepticon barked and Landgrab quickly did as he was told, weapon in hand and ready for battle.

Well, as ready as he ever was.

Corridors

Sixshot stood in the center of the corridor with his arms crossed over his massive chest plate, glaring down at the scheming Seeker Commander. The mighty sixchanger had been the scourge of the universe, feared by all but Megatron and the DJD. Perhaps other phase-sixers, such as Overlord, felt no such dread of him, either, but it mattered little at this moment in time. Now, the towering Sixshot had been reduced to Starscream’s little puppet, whose strings the cowardly mech could pull at his leisure. And it was all due to a simple series of words that, when spoken, forced the sixchanger’s systems to shut down and enter stasis lock. Curse the hand that he had been dealt. Even with Megatron now seemingly gone, Sixshot still had to play a similar role as before, only this time for another, less worthy master. The phase-sixer would make the best of it, of course. He always did.

As Starscream began to explain things further, Sixshot listened with a ferocity in his optics. He wanted to tear the seeker apart right there and then, but he reframed from doing so. It was too great a risk considering that permanent stasis was a mere sentence away. In his ramblings, Starscream revealed little, refusing to divulge how exactly he learned the code words, except to say that Megatron had a difficult time keeping secrets from him. That was likely true considering the slagmaker seemed to allow the cowardly flier to remain so close at times. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Those were wise words to live by, but unfortunately the phase-sixer would not benefit from them here.

Starscream then assured Sixshot that he was not needed to help take the throne, since it was already his. The sixchanger allowed a low chuckle to escape his vocalizer as the cowardly mech went on to reveal that he wanted him to do only one thing: put an end to this war. Sixshot’s optics widened in surprise. “Really? That’s it?” The STAG uncrossed his arms and let them hang at his sides. “You want me to end the war? I assume you mean that you want me to unleash my full power and destroy the Autobots, every last one, correct?” The phase-sixer had been presented with a task of utter destruction on a grand scale. In an instant, his demeanor had changed somewhat, and while he was still not thrilled about being Starscream’s pawn he was certainly happy that the seeker wanted him to do what he did best.

“And what of this Fallen mess?” Sixshot added as he glared down into Starscream’s optics. The STAG may have just arrived in the Sol System not too long ago, but he was not oblivious to what was happening around him or to the transmissions of Lord Razorclaw. “Should I focus on eradicating him first or should I just destroy anything that doesn’t have a Decepticon symbol, be it an Autobot or a demigod?”

Knockout’s Lab

Skywarp was about to pull away from Nightraven when he felt her grip tightened on his arm, preventing him from leaving just yet. Her comment that she would be of no help up here, either, was probably true but at least she would not be in harm’s way. Before the teleporter could reply to her statement, Knockout’s vocals echoed throughout the lab as the mechanic loudly mocked the prankster’s concern and minimized what Nighty had endured in her fight with Soundwave’s cassettes. ‘Warp shot the crimson mech a deep scowl just as the seeker femme’s grip grew even tighter on his forearm. Clearly she was trying to prevent the teleporter from doing anything violent to Knockout and her words only confirmed that.

“Yeah, well, I could ignore him better if I teleported him into a black hole,” Skywarp finally responded to Nightraven, allowing his voice to carry across the lab so that Knockout could hear him, as well. The prankster then grew silent again as Nighty told him to be careful and stay safe. The Fallen and his heralds were unlike any other mechs they had ever faced. They were extremely dangerous even in small numbers and had supernatural powers far beyond what a normal ‘Bot or ‘Con possessed. “I’ll try, Nighty. My ability to teleport should help me out some I hope.”

Nightraven then placed her other hand on Skywarp’s cheek as she told him to get going. Of course, Knockout had to interject a snide remark about purging before promising to take care of the seeker femme until he came back, or as the mechanic added, IF the prankster came back. “You want to purge?! I can make that happen with a good swift punch to your gut!!” With his free arm the teleporter made a swinging motion towards the red mech’s abdominal region before stopping short. “Heh. You’re not worth my time or energon!”

Nightraven then released Skywarp’s other arm and suggested once again that he should leave, as she had some things to discuss with the crimson mechanic. “You’re right, Nighty,” Skywarp replied with a slight smile. “I’ll come back. I promise.” With one last intense glare sent in Knockout’s direction, the teleporter turned and exited the lab, heading to the bounce chamber and ultimately to a date with a demigod.

Armory

"Ready I am," Weirdwolf growled out as he put away two more flak grenades and glanced down at himself performing last astrosecond checks that all was in their respective places.

Motormaster and his brood were passing through, raiding everything that looked powerful - but not too powerful. He cast them a quick glanced and then looked back at his friend. He gave Skullcruncher another affirmative nod, and vacated the armory.

Weirdwolf supposed he couldn't blame Skullcruncher for having issues understanding him. He still bore the habits of his previous life before the war...The lupine mechanoid shut that out of his mind. Now was no time to reminisce. Instead he turned his thoughts ahead, to the coming battle. They would be one of the later parties arriving, so he figured they would simply do what the majority were doing unless expressly ordered otherwise. It was a simple life this.

Weirdwolf continued on to the bounce chamber, uncharacteristically saying very little. This was no mere skirmish. This was a battle that would decide the fate of their race. Their fates depended on not the leadership of Megatron or Optimus Prime, but of untested - well perhaps not totally untested, Weirdwolf could vouch for Razorclaw in fact - mechanoids newly in power.

Before the tracker knew it, they were stepping up onto the bounce pad. Weirdwolf glanced over to Skullcruncher. "Into the fields of battle we go," he said as the white light enveloped them both.

Laboratory

"Only 5 with none of them having any real sort of power behind them." Roadblock said as he turned his head to see the figures that were chosen. He felt his backpack be fully installed and tested the two cannons by positioning them. "I am surprised that someone who is normally so calculating as Razorclaw would send so much of his forces into such an obvious trap."

He stepped from the stations and began walking towards the exit.

"I am going to the armory. Inform me when the trap is sprung."

Laboratory

Shockwave looked up from his work when Roadblock finished his last sentence. From his choice of words, it sounded to Shockwave as if he was being issued a command by a subordinate.

Unacceptable.

"Negative. You will depart for the surface as soon as you are sufficiently armed. Once there, you will discover that information yourself."

Laboratory

"You sound as if you can still command me." Roadblock said in a calm manner then turned back as his optics met Shockwave's.

"You fought Razorclaw for Decepticon leadership didn't you? You fought and you lost. It looks like you began to repair yourself but that process was interrupted. That means it must not have been too far in the past. I wager that Razorclaw spared you but has yet to establish the role you will play under his Decepticons. That makes you a 'Con without a position now doesn't it? The same could be said for me, I suppose."

He spoke with no trace of fear or emotion in his voice. He was cooly studying the situation as if he would do in any battlefield.

"In any case, can you provide me with the military logic behind rushing yet more soldiers into an obvious trap? Basic military logic demands always leaving behind a force in reserve especially when your opponent is still hiding something does it not?"

Laboratory

"Declarative: there is partial accuracy to your statements; however, though my position may remain in question the power at my disposal is not. More importantly, I have not yet exhausted the reserved of ultra-energon that I have ingested. Regardless, even if that were not a factor, I would overpower you. And power still commands within our ranks, even when other realities are in flux."

Shockwave rose to his full height and regarded the Decepticon warrior with his typical, emotional disregard.

"Imperative: you will depart as commanded, under the auspices with which I have restored you to active functioning in the first place. Those are the commands of our new Supreme Leader and I have no reason to interfere in them. My contingencies for any potential outcome of this battle are not public knowledge, nor will they be. If you do not intend to comply, I will return you to the cryogenic regeneration chamber from which you were restored, whether you would will it or not."

Laboratory

"I suppose you do have the power to throw me back into the chamber if you wanted to. Then again, to waste time ridding yourself of a proven military asset when facing what you consider a dire foe does not sound particularly logical either."

Roadblock said in a calm manner. Shockwave rising might have intimidated others but years of the most desperate and intense combat possible had long burned any fear out of Roadblock's systems. Some might say they burned away his soul as well but such things did not matter to hi.

"Ever since you have reactivated me nothing I have heard makes any sense.If you want to keep your machinations to yourself then you are welcome to them. However, I will continue to undertake my duties in the most effective military manner with the information I have available to me."

He turns and begins to make his way out.

"I will prepare and then do my duty as military logic dictates. Allow me to do my duty or fire your weapon. The choice is yours."

Laboratory

"Declarative: your duty is such that our Supreme Commander has ordered. Proceed. Or you will be removed from this theater as quickly as you were restored to it," Shockwave said simply, returning to his repairs, satisfied that the other mech recognized the superior force in the room.

The Decepticon ranks were always testing one another to see where exactly they stood. Despite the more pressing operations that currently sought his attention, the strategist would never allow his position to be threatened by a mech that he had calculated to be of an inferior position to him, both in terms of political hierarchy as well as physical.

Whatever Roadblock's understandings, or misunderstandings, of Shockwave's application of logic, he would understand that he was not as invaluable as he seemed to think he was to their ongoing war effort. Insubordination, or even the perception of it, could not be tolerated by anyone with Shockwave's standing in the empire. Shockwave would sacrifice a dozen Roadblocks if it meant preserving the work that he had already accomplished. If this newly-activated operative pushed this situation much further, he would find that out firsthand.

Right before he went back into stasis lock.
___

Engine Room

"Slag," Long Haul cursed, having dropped the tool he was using to restore one of the malfunctioning generators on the ground. His mind was elsewhere. There was a massive battle on the verge of happening and he was in here fixing things. Not that he minded fixing things so much. There were worse functions being a Decepticon. He had gotten used to it over the vorns. But any time there was a battle and he wasn't a part of it, it distracted him.

And now they were going to fight a member of the Thirteen. The Thirteen. He couldn't really put any words into just how epic that was.

He knew that his place was here, helping his teammates get the Thanatos back in working order. Getting the drainage systems functional, the floors cleared and now slowly working on the power generators and the other intricate machinery of the massive, Decepticon battlecruiser. All of it was worthwhile, but he couldn't shake that nagging itch to be where the real battle was about to go down. A battle unlike anything Long Haul could recall being a part of. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd done enough and that maybe, just maybe, his commander would let him go down with the others.

Slapping the exterior panel shut and starting the sealing process, he called over to Scrapper who was diligently working alongside the other members of the Constructicons.

"Hey boss....you think, uh, maybe our team should have a representative down there on the battlefield? I don't know, I was just thinking that if we did, I could go and, y'know. Do whatever needed doing down there. Not that I don't like working up here. I'm just sayin'."

Engine Room

Scrapper eased his way out of the crevice he placed himself in to finish welding a wire casing shut. He wiped the accumulating carbon residue his tool gave off from his brow plating and turned his attention to his fellow Constructicons. What a wonderful sight it was to see 5 able bodied Decepticon engineers pumping out such progress on the Thanatos' repairs. At this rate, the ship could be back into functioning condition in a span of two breems. Well, optimistically two breems... The reality was about five Earthen hours.

As the Constructicon leader reached for his arc welder once more, the team's transporter spoke up about sending a representative or something along those lines to Earth's surface. It wasn't a surprise that Long Haul's true longing was to be on the front lines, away from all this technical babble. Scrapper knew that Long Haul's little suggestion was just an excuse for him to get out of repair work and to see what a real battle would be like.

"Representative? Well I should send Bonecrusher down there then! He's great at deconstruction work!" Scrapper chuckled as he tried poking some fun at his fellow Constructicon. "I applaud your enthusiasm for Decepticon conquest, but we need to finish these repairs first before we decide on shipping out. Besides, we have a bigger project than the Thanatos to finish while we're up here."

The Constructicon commander shifted his attention towards Hook, who was still hard at work repairing the power generators. Before his raised his vocalizer to his fellow engineer, Scapper gazed around the room, unsure of if anyone who wasn't in a green and purple paint job was hiding about.

"Hook! That's good enough for now, I need you to come with me so we can get Project Devastator taken care of. Everyone else here is capable of finishing up the patch work in the mean time."

Laboratory

Roadblock said nothing as he walked out of the Laboratory. There was no need for any more words as his prodding had already given him all he needed to know. Once outside he grinned. "Oh sure, I'll leave as soon as I am done preparing. Course, preparation can take a while." He thought as he walked to the Armory.

"Quite in the hurry to get me of this ship eh One-Optic?" He continued to think. [i]"You are not convincing at all for someone so smart. "I have no reason to doubt Razorclaw." Yeah right. You are definitely up to something. Normally I could not care less about all these politics but when it affects me and my mission, well then, that changes things."/i]

Armory

Roadblock entered the Armory and entered the section for Commanders. Getting himself ready for battle was strangely soothing to the warrior. A calm before the storm that was to come. He checked over his ammunition and weapons with a care that only someone who had grown accustomed to desperate battles which gave absolutely no room for error could appreciate. As he carefully moved he accessed the communicator in the room and looked up Razorclaw's personal frequency. It was time he got some answers for himself.

Corridors

“Deer, deer Sixshot. I do not need to use you in order to take the “throne. After all, I don’t need to take what is mine already. No, what I need you to do is something much more important."

Starscream was as arrogant as ever. But this time, at least, he merited the boasting: he had brought Sixshot to heel.

“You see, I wish to accomplish that which Megatron could never in the countless vorns he was our esteemed leader."

It was impossible to tell when Starscream legitimately praised Megatron. Surely he felt some respect and admiration for the Decepticon leader, but after millions of years, Starscream's ambition subsumed that feeling. Whatever praise he doled out was carefully peppered with reminders of Starscream's greatness and the scale of his ambitions.

“And that is where you come in. Megatron failed to utilize your full potential. You are capable of so much more than some glorified planet sanitizer. I want you to do what you were meant to do….put an end to this war."

That Bitstream could not allow. He drew back out of sight, taking in what he'd learned. While he could only partially infer what Starscream planned, the Seeker Commander now had placed a sizable roadblock in Bitstream's plan to assassinate the dear leader. And worse, if Starscream succeeded in whatever play he'd make, he could be remembered as the heroic victor who ended the Cybertronian civil war. He'd not only undermine Razorclaw's already fragile reign, but Starscream would be remembered by history as successful. As triumphant.

Starscream deserved to be remembered as he was: a cowardly, backstabbing opportunist. He deserved to be forgotten.

Bitstream weighed his options. Starscream had conscripted a powerful ally, but had no real friends among the ranks of the Decepticons. Perhaps a few other Seekers would support him. According to what Bitstream could infer from the ship's datalogs and recordings (and hadn't been deleted or redacted), Shockwave had already conspired with Starscream to conceal Megatron's death from the rest of the Decepticon war machine. Onslaught and Flamewar had thrown their support behind Razorclaw, but no doubt they nursed ambitions of leadership as well.

Bitsream wondered if his quest for revenge would leave the Decepticons intact. He had no real affection for his comrades, but he didn't want the Autobots to win either. And another power struggle in the Decepticons would leave them vulnerable, and every Autobot would be able to see it.

Assuming any of them survived the battle with the Fallen.

They always seemed perched on the verge of oblivion, but Bitstream had never controlled the outcome. He'd disabled enemy comms, repaired discarded weapons, and then fled before shooting started. He didn't have the strength or the charisma to direct them. This world was far less forgiving than the virtual simulations he'd indulged in... among the Decepticons, when you betrayed your commander, you either took his place or went to the Afterspark early.

They were facing oblivion now, and none of them had a level of power that compared to a god.

But Starscream... Starscream was closest, with Sixshot under his thumb.

Bitstream would need another asset to further his cause. He would see Starscream dead, but now he needed someone else to die at Sixshot's hand, distracting the Phase Sixer long enough for Bitstream to sever his chain... and turn him back on his master.

One thing Decepticons could be counted on was sacrificing a battle objective to settle a petty grudge.

But Bitstream would need to recruit warriors with nothing to lose. Who would comply?

-

Med-Bay

Bitstream perused the CR chambers and recharging slabs. A few no-names... a few recovering squad leaders who wouldn't go along with his plan.

And a Seeker, Nightweaver, floating. Conscious, but immersed in the healing Energon. He was scratching the surface of the bulkhead, eager to be released. A Seeker, low ranked like Bitstream himself... he'd have reason to hate Starscream. Those that served under him directly hated him even more than those who were mere witnesses to his takeover attempts. They didn't have to hear him practice his grand proclamations or whine after a failed takeover attempt.

He'd been in a scrap with another Decepticon soldier, clearly. And he'd come off the worse. If Starscream witnessed his loss, the Seeker would go down a few notches; maybe be kicked from the squadron entirely.

Bitstream was intelligent, but he didn't have the charisma to lie effectively. So he decided to play the entirety of his hand.

"I'm going to take an orbital bounce when our Commander Starscream drops," Bitstream explained. "When this battle with the Fallen gets underway, I'm going to reprogram his pet superweapon and let him kill Starscream for me.

"Whatever happens, as long as Starscream is dead, our position improves," Bitstream continued. "And the Decepticons will be a more effective fighting force without him. I don't want to lead them myself... but I do want everyone to know I caused his death.

"But I'll need a distraction," Bitsream concluded. "I'll need someone who can draw fire, only for a moment. And if you help me... I'll make sure you're blameless. I'll accept any fallout from our actions alone. So tell me, Nightweaver... will you help me?"

Nightweaver engaged his systems, linking up to the CR chamber's holographic projection, linking his core consciousness to it. A projection of his head spoke to his fellow Seeker.

"There's one of the Predacons I want to kill," Nightweaver replied. "Help me leave a scar... help me make sure he knows I can kill him... and I'll help you with whatever you have in mind."

Another distraction. Another possible impediment to Bitstream's plans...

...but a cooperating accomplice was an asset he couldn't ignore. "Deal."

Engine Room

The engine room had been flooded, quite literally, with so much chaos that Mixmaster was like a protoform in an energon depository. So much to fix and get back under control. It was going to be a long process of course. This Fallen guy obviously knew what he, she, it...whatever...was doing. But still, nothing was beyond repair from the looks of it. That was....that was something.

"Hook! That's good enough for now, I need you to come with me so we can get Project Devastator taken care of. Everyone else here is capable of finishing up the patch work in the mean time."

Mixmaster looked up from the generator he was working on as Scrapper called Hook over. More work on Devastator! Eeee! Mixmaster clapped excitedly to himself and got back to working on the generator in question.

"How long you think we gotta wait before we run run run this show, eh Bones?" Mixmaster said, looking over at Bonecrusher with an unmistakable glint of satisfaction and excitement in his optics.

Engine Room

Bonecrusher pulled a rotor blade out of the side of the wall and held it haphazardly in his left hand as he kicked the deactivated and permanently extinguished husk of the former Vehicon brute that it held in place. He smirked behind his mouth guard before kicking the corpse again. "Pathetic rusty antique. Couldn't even take a simple impaling through the spark chamber."

He spun the would be sword around in his articulated hand, severing ruined and burnt out cables from their sockets that hung just above the dead brawler. The end of the power cable smashed through the corpse's torso leaving a rather spectacular "U" shape in between its broad shoulders. It was a beautiful piece of destruction, carbon scars laced the interior of the entire deck, the quantum generators were nothing more than smoldering fragments of scrap iron. Corpses were everywhere and best of all, the perfect tenor of customization pervaded the air.

The Constructicon artist settled the rotor blade down and set its tip against the bubbled deck. His fingers slowly opening and closing around it's black cybertronium airfoil shaped hilt. "Run the show you say Mixmaster?" He scoffed at the notion briefly. Not to say that he cared for any measure of power. There was no real glamour in commanding minions to their deaths, no sense of perfection, no artistry... no sense of purpose. Those who really lived, who really existed left their marks on history through memorable devastation. To Bonecrusher, nobody remembered those who constructed great monuments, the Pyramid, the Decagon, the Hall of Heroes... no one remembered the engineers and laborers or architects who made them. But the wastelands at Thunderhead Pass or the Dead Lands of Pragob IV, those works of art were immortalized in the pages of history and retold through legend.

He hefted up the sword and pointed it in the direction of one of the heavy anti gravity sledge carrying a new set of bulk head components and other canisters of adhesive compounds. "Who knows, doubt even that oh so full of himself Sixshafter can even stand up to whatever Scraper's designed." The blade caught the tail end of the field as the sledge passed, causing Bonecrusher to lose his grip. The rotor blade sword spun irratically around the anti gravity field before it was propelled and speed straight through a bulkhead on the opposite side of the power core.

Not missing a beat or daring to truly care whether the blade actually impaled anyone, Bonecrusher made his way over to the nearby generator where Mixmaster was currently tinkering. "All I know is, if those two geniuses botch this little project of theirs... I promise they won't hear the end of it..."

Private transmission from Razorclaw:

>>”Standby, Roadblock. I will contact you again shortly.”>”Roadblock, this is Supreme Commander Razorclaw. The battle here against the Fallen is about to begin. Bounce down immediately and rendezvous with Motormaster. Together, you two will coordinate a frontal assault on Ayers Rock while the rest of our forces will circle around and attack from the rear, a ‘hammer and anvil’ tactic as you may know. Do not delay further! Understood?”>"Starscream, this is Supreme Commander Razorclaw. Drop whatever schemes you are planning and get your aft planet side ASAP! Oh, and bring Sixshot with you! We're going to need him!"<<

Armory

Being put on hold by Razorclaw did not irritate Roadblock as he was fully calmed by his ritualized preparations before the battle. Eventually Razorclaw did reply but the instructions where not to his liking.

"Alright, Razorclaw, this is a private communication and you seem to have little time so I will be blunt. I do not believe my assignment will work. Two commanders leading an attack is usually one too many especially when someone who talks more than he thinks like Motormaster is one of the two. Not to mention that coordination will become impossible when he loses his oil the moment he sees one of his little Stunticons attacking back."

Roadblock finished his preparations and began to walk towards the exit. He was never one to like sharing a battlefield let alone with someone whose tactical knowledge he did not respect. What was fueling his concern, however, was a basic tenant of military tactics that he did not see being used.

"Even from up here I can sense how you have left your rear open in this attack. You know that you always leave a reserve to take advantage of any openings that have been made or to reinforce one of the wings if they get into trouble. Having one of us prepare a reserve will free the attack from conflicts with its commanders. Motormaster does not have the patience for it so leave me a small command and I will forge them into an effective reserve or their useless remains can liter that planet. That will give me the opportunity to study the field of battle without delaying any attack as well."

Other generals might have their egos hurt by being given reserve duty but such things were not Roadblock's concern in moments like this. He knew this was the task where he could do the most good at this moment.

Laboratory

Shadowing uploaded to Shockwave a copy of the battle plan that Razorclaw had established.

Private transmission from Razorclaw:

>>”No, Roadblock, what will not work is your belief that you can question my orders and rewrite them as you please! I am the Supreme Commander of the Decepticon Empire, and you will do as you are told or you will be placed back into stasis from which you came. However, since you do not think coordinating with Motormaster will work, you can instead bounce down and rendezvous with him to serve as his direct subordinate! Private comm or not, you will respect my authority and follow my orders without delay or you will suffer further consequences. There will be no more debate on this matter. Am I clearly understood?”<<

Corridors

Roadblock narrowed his optics and stopped walking as he listened to Razorclaw's reply, patched in through the ship's systems. Within his form a dark rage built yet he kept it under control.

"In all those words you uttered to me, Razorclaw, you never stated that I was wrong about my sense that you are leaving your rear exposed. Have you really changed this much since you became leader? The Razorclaw I knew would show more patience. He would be able to see clearly this entire situation for the trap that it is. This Fallen wants you to do an all out attack. A reserve is the best way to counter whatever surprises it has in mind. Not to mention that it also protects your forces from the enemies you are temporarily calling allies and the allies that are waiting for an opportunity to become enemies."

Roadblock replied in a calm but serious voice.

"I will not forget or forgive the dishonor you have shown me with your words nor will I subject myself to the indignity you wish to inflict on me. I will wait here so that, should you survive, I may challenge you to a duel. In the meantime, take heed of my words for the sake of your command."

Razorclaw had said he no longer wanted to debate this and Roadblock was willing to honor that. He had given his warning and he would defend his honor when the time came. In the meantime he would not interfere with a military operation. The soldiers had enough problems on their hands as it was.

Laboratory

As Shockwave continued his intricate repair efforts, Shadowing was already beginning the process of steadily streaming intelligence from the battlefield via the link that had been established. The latest to come through were the battle plans that had been established thus far. Were he in command, he calculated a 53.5732% probability that he would have recommended an altered strategy to address the threat of the entity, but given the resources that were available to them and the command structure on the ground being what it was, he calculated no advantages in intervening.

>>"Satisfactory. Proceed as commanded."<<